Author: Huzaifa Khan

Today is the World Ozone Day, 2024. The world observes the World Ozone Day or International Day for the Preservation of Ozone Layer every year on September 16. The Day is observed to commemorate the Montreal Protocol, a UN treaty to protect and conserve the Earth’s ozone layer.   Ozone layer is a region in the Earth’s atmosphere that absorbs the harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays of the sun. The layer protects the humans, animals and plants from UV’s dangerous effects. However, the Earth’s ozone layer faces the threat of depletion from the ozone depleting substances (ODS) emissions from the human…

There seems to be very little hope for the G20 leaders to arrive at a joint declaration at the end of the summit in New Delhi. With the European world broadly divided into two Cold War-like blocs, but not that clearly, arriving at any type of consensus is going to be a monumental task. War Preventing the Joint Declaration The major hurdle in arriving at a joint declaration is going to be the Russia-Ukraine war. The Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who will be attending the Summit in his President’s stead, has already made it clear that Russia will block…

As the seven assembly seats in the six states go to bypolls today, the newly formed all-India opposition bloc, INDIA, faces a test of its credibility and strength. The Indian National Development Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) will be face-to-face against the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the ruling coalition led by the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP). The bypolls are being held today in the six states of Uttar Pradesh (UP), West Bangal (WB), Tripura, Jharkhand, Kerala and Uttarakhand. The poll results will set the momentum for the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha general elections, where the 28 opposition parties are expected to contest…

As the new military regimes in Niger and Gabon capitalize on the prevalent anti-French sentiment in their countries, the French influence in its former African colonies can be seen declining. Seven West African countries have seen their governments toppled by the military coups in the last two years. In all these coups and countries, the feeling of resentment against the French colonial legacy has played a major role. The emergence of new and more powerful players, China and Russia, has further dispelled the notion of France being the “Gendarme of Africa”. Anti-French Sentiment After dethroning the democratically established regime of…

After banning the activities of NGOs, UN and international organizations in the military operation zones, the junta government of Niger has now ordered expulsion of the French Ambassador, Sylvain Itte, from the country. Following the imposition of military rule on 26th July this year, the Sahel country is undergoing a democratic turmoil. The coup d’état was imposed after the presidential guard detained president Mohamed Bazoum and their chief, Abdourahamane Tchiani, declared himself the head of the state. The public reaction to the coup has been rather positive, since the government of Mr. Bazoum was under several allegations of corruption, maladministration…

On October 14, Australia will vote in referendum to give Voice to the aboriginals and indigenous people of its population. The referendum, if succeeded, will enshrine in the country’s constitution the Voice to Parliament: a mechanism for the indigenous people to give inputs to Parliament in formulation of laws affecting their lives. Disagreement over referendum The indigenous Australians face several disabilities related to health, livelihood, culture, social acceptance and political representation. The debate around the feasibility of referendum vis-à-vis constitutional and legislative clarity in the country has been raging for some time now. While a section of people are celebrating…

In yet another unilateral and expansionist move, China released a new edition of the standardised map, claiming the disputed South China Sea, India’s Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin and Taiwan. This comes just ahead of the G20 Summit scheduled to be held in India on 9 and 10 September, when the Chinese President, Xi Jinping, is expected to arrive here. The new map was officially released on Monday on the website of the standard map service hosted by the Chinese Ministry of Natural Resources. “This map is compiled based on the drawing method of the national boundaries of China and…

After the success of Chandrayaan 3, ISRO now plans to launch Aditya L1- India’s first space-based mission to study the Sun. The ISRO chief, S Somanath, has told the media that the Sun observatory will be launched in the first week of September this year. India is gearing up for another historic feat. Aditya L1 will be launched on board the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) XL rocket. The launch vehicle will place the satellite in the halo orbit around the Lagrange point 1 (L1) of the sun-earth system. According to the national space agency’s website, the L1 point enables…

On Wednesday, for the first time, the light combat aircraft (LCA) Tejas successfully test-fired the India-made Astra missile. The test was conducted off the coast of Goa, at an altitude of 20,000 ft. According to a statement by the Ministry of Defence, “it was a perfect textbook launch”. The test-launch of Astra missile signifies another feather in the cap of Indian military’s indigenization goal of Atmanirbhar Bharat. It was overseen by the directors and the scientists of Defence and Research Development Organisation (DRDO), Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) along with the officials from the Directorate General…